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This traditional Slovak soup uses already prepared ingredients, like sauerkraut, smoked ham, and smoked sausage, to made a hearty and warming soup that requires very little prepping time. 

Ingredients

  • 2 lbs /1kg smoked ribs or ham
  • 4 quarts/litres water
  • 2 bay leaves
  • ½ tsp peppercorns
  • 2 tbsp/20g lard
  • 2 onions
  • 1.5oz/50g bacon
  • 4 cloves garlic
  • 1oz/30g dry mushrooms
  • 1 tsp coarsely ground caraway
  • 1 tbsp paprika
  • 25oz/700g sauerkraut squeezed
  • 11oz/300g klobasa 2-3 smoked sausages
  •  sour cream for optional garnish

Instructions

  1. Put water, whole smoked ham, bay leaves, and peppercorns in a 5 quart/litre pot. Let simmer for at least one hour, if not longer.

  2. In a pot of at least 7 quarts/litres, melt lard and saute onions until golden. Meanwhile, soak mushrooms in water.

  3. Chop bacon and garlic and add to onions, stirring until garlic is fragrant. Add caraway, then paprika, stir and immediately add in squeezed sauerkraut, reserving the juices. Sauerkraut can be cut shorter beforehand, for easier eating. Stir.

  4. Add soaked mushrooms and whole klobasa. Add broth from the smoked ham, and simmer until sauerkraut is soft, about 30 minutes.

  5. Cut up ham, fish out klobasa and slice, then add both to pot.

  6. Use the reserved sauerkraut juice to add extra saltiness or sourness.

  7. Serve hot with optional sour cream for garnish.